BMW design has been on a rollercoaster ride over the past decade or so, with the company churning out a few cars that could generously be called “polarizing”—although same have aged fairly well—as well as others that are truly elegant. Even BMW’s most attractive contemporary offerings, however, pale in comparison to this BMW Zagato Coupé. As its name implies, it is a BMW that has been worked over by the Italian design house and coachbuilder Zagato. Like nearly all of the firm’s recent re-body projects—Aston Martin V12 Zagato, TZ3 Stradale, and Fiat 500 Coupé concept—the BMW Zagato Coupé is properly gorgeous.

The car was born out of the friendship of BMW head designer Adrian van Hooydonk and Norihiko Harada, Zagato’s chief penman. The duo apparently decided the time was ripe for a collaborative effort between their respective companies. Fittingly, the one-off Coupé will make its debut at the exclusive Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como. Based on the Z4 chassis, the Zagato Coupé wears entirely hand-formed bodywork, including a roof that features Zagato’s signature “double-bubble” look. The name for the car’s red paint sounds nearly as sexy as it looks: Rosso Vivace. Translated from Italian, “vivace” means “vivid” or “lively”—convenient, since that’s how we would describe the Zagato’s styling.

Although a few Z4 styling cues are echoed in the Coupé’s front end and long-hood, short-deck proportions, the rest of its look is totally unique. The Zagato’s front view is dominated by a bulging hood, whose creases flow down around a kidney grille stuffed with Zs—for, well, you get it. Cool detail: The Zs are arranged in vertical columns that mimic the slats that typically adorn BMW’s kidney grilles. There’s also an M-style front fascia with large intakes. The headlights appear to be standard Z4 units.